"He'll use it to discuss a number of issues including some of the upcoming fiscal deadlines like the debt ceiling," a senior White House official said.

Obama's last full-scale news conference was on November 14, shortly after he won re-election. He took questions from the media last week after a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Fresh off negotiating a resolution to the so-called fiscal cliff, new political confrontations loom over budget and borrowing.

The United States is due to bump up against its borrowing ceiling in mid-February. Republicans have said they will insist on spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit, but the president has declined to negotiate over the increase.